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Article PROVINCIAL. ← Page 7 of 25 →
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Provincial.
been proposed b y his long valued friend , and of the admirable feelin " in which it was received by the Brethren . Bro . BRUTTON proposed the health of the " Officers and Brethren of St . Peter ' s Lodge , " lamenting that Masonry was without a leader in the province , but encouraging a hope that , whilst such reunions as the present occurred , it was impossible that Masonry should decline in the province . He quite concurred with the observation made bthe
Chairy man , that something like a remonstrance should be addressed to the Provincial Grand Master , by the several Lodges of the province . Bro . W . KETTLE rose in reply , and said—It had fallen to his lot as the youngest member of St . Peter ' s Lodge , to have the privilege of returning thanks for the toast they had just drank . It mi ght surprise them to hear one who had that day worn the Secretary ' s badge , acknowledge that he was the youngest member of the Lodge ; but this had been
indeed such a glorious day for St . Peter ' s Lodge , that all its officers had been abundantly occupied in receiving the numerous distinguished visitors , who had come many of them long distances to meet their illustrious guest . He begged , on behalf of St . Peter ' s Lodge , to tender to them its most hearty thanks for the honour they had done the Lodge , by their presence upon that occasion ; and for the cordial manner in which they had accepted the toast of their respected Brother
Brutton . He had thought it right to inform them that he was a newlyinitiated Brother , and not an officer of the Lodge , because he was about to say a few words upon the subject of Masonry , which , perhaps , from a Brother better skilled in the Craft , would require some apolosv
but he thought from his situation , he might , perhaps , be entitled to give them his first reflections upon their body , without subjecting himself to censure . He quite agreed with their illustrious guest , that there was something wrong , not in Masonry itself , but in the constitution of the Masonic body . Pie had observed it when he perused the Book of Constitutions ; and the observations he . had that day heard from Dr . Crucefix , and from Brother Brutton , had convinced him the opinion
he had formed was correct . He would venture to point out that , as a young Mason , he thought the error was—the irresponsibility of the officers to the Lodge . It seemed to him that the head officers , when once elected , had the Lodge entirely in their own hands—that they might deal with it as they thought proper . * That there was not in the Constitutions of Masonry any power in the Brethren , even to remonstrate with their officers ; and he would say , by way of suggestionand
, not reprimand , that he thought he could trace the working of this evil , as well in the observations of the member of their own Provincial Grand Lodge , as in the observations of their illustrious guest . These difficulties were but temporary ; the grand structure would remain , although some of the decorations occasionally required repairing . Masonry would continue to be the great institution for the education of tlie conscience . There were numerous associations for the promotion of
physical scienc ;;—there was the church , and numerous religious societies , for the propagation of religion ;—but it was left to Masonry to reduce ethics to a science , and to carry out and teach that science practically . " The forms and ceremonies of the Lodge were to the conscience ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Provincial.
been proposed b y his long valued friend , and of the admirable feelin " in which it was received by the Brethren . Bro . BRUTTON proposed the health of the " Officers and Brethren of St . Peter ' s Lodge , " lamenting that Masonry was without a leader in the province , but encouraging a hope that , whilst such reunions as the present occurred , it was impossible that Masonry should decline in the province . He quite concurred with the observation made bthe
Chairy man , that something like a remonstrance should be addressed to the Provincial Grand Master , by the several Lodges of the province . Bro . W . KETTLE rose in reply , and said—It had fallen to his lot as the youngest member of St . Peter ' s Lodge , to have the privilege of returning thanks for the toast they had just drank . It mi ght surprise them to hear one who had that day worn the Secretary ' s badge , acknowledge that he was the youngest member of the Lodge ; but this had been
indeed such a glorious day for St . Peter ' s Lodge , that all its officers had been abundantly occupied in receiving the numerous distinguished visitors , who had come many of them long distances to meet their illustrious guest . He begged , on behalf of St . Peter ' s Lodge , to tender to them its most hearty thanks for the honour they had done the Lodge , by their presence upon that occasion ; and for the cordial manner in which they had accepted the toast of their respected Brother
Brutton . He had thought it right to inform them that he was a newlyinitiated Brother , and not an officer of the Lodge , because he was about to say a few words upon the subject of Masonry , which , perhaps , from a Brother better skilled in the Craft , would require some apolosv
but he thought from his situation , he might , perhaps , be entitled to give them his first reflections upon their body , without subjecting himself to censure . He quite agreed with their illustrious guest , that there was something wrong , not in Masonry itself , but in the constitution of the Masonic body . Pie had observed it when he perused the Book of Constitutions ; and the observations he . had that day heard from Dr . Crucefix , and from Brother Brutton , had convinced him the opinion
he had formed was correct . He would venture to point out that , as a young Mason , he thought the error was—the irresponsibility of the officers to the Lodge . It seemed to him that the head officers , when once elected , had the Lodge entirely in their own hands—that they might deal with it as they thought proper . * That there was not in the Constitutions of Masonry any power in the Brethren , even to remonstrate with their officers ; and he would say , by way of suggestionand
, not reprimand , that he thought he could trace the working of this evil , as well in the observations of the member of their own Provincial Grand Lodge , as in the observations of their illustrious guest . These difficulties were but temporary ; the grand structure would remain , although some of the decorations occasionally required repairing . Masonry would continue to be the great institution for the education of tlie conscience . There were numerous associations for the promotion of
physical scienc ;;—there was the church , and numerous religious societies , for the propagation of religion ;—but it was left to Masonry to reduce ethics to a science , and to carry out and teach that science practically . " The forms and ceremonies of the Lodge were to the conscience ,